Lizzie McGuire and the Case of the Model Masher
by Rupert Brown
Summary: As the new kid in Hillridge Junior High you find yourself swept up in events beyond your control. Someone has wreaked Larry Tudgeman's science project, and it's up to you and your newfound friends to find the culprit fast—and everyone’s a suspect!
1. Default Chapter

This is my homage to the Lizzie McGuire Mystery series of books that Disney Press has come out with. But instead of the normal third person perspective, I've tried for a little 2nd person, ala those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. This is my first attempt at a prose adventure for "Lizzie", not to mention the fact that I've tired writing it at a 3rd/4th grade level (not unlike those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books themselves). So don't expect Conan Doyle. ;-) As always, feedback is most appreciated. :-)

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You're new. Your parents just moved to Hillridge, and this is your first day at school. You're excited, but nervous at the same time. You don't know anybody, and you're not sure how to go about 'fitting in'.

As you walk down the halls trying to take everything in, you don't watch where you're going and as a consequence accidentally bump into one of your fellow students, a girl.

"Watch where you're going dirk!" The tall blond bristles.

You try to apologize, but she'll have none of it.

"Whatever." She says, thrusting a hand at you.

Great. Your first day and your name is already mud!

"Lay off Kate." Another girl says, coming to your defense. With her there's a dark haired girl and boy. "It was obviously an accident."

"Butt out Lizzie…"

"What's the matter Kate? Didn't eat a puppy this morning so you're taking it out on the newbie?" The dark haired girl wants to know.

Glowering, Kate stomps away. You thank 'Lizzie' for helping you out.

"No problem. I'm Lizzie. This is Miranda and Gordo." She says, introducing her two friends. "You new to Hillridge?"

You tell her that yes, you are.

"Why don't you we show you around?" Gordo suggests.

"Yeah," Miranda takes up, "why don't you think of it as a crash course in 8th grade survival?"

That sounds great to you. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

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You've been in school less than ten minutes and you've already made new friends. That has to be some kind of record, you think to yourself. As you're walking, your new friends point out the highlights.

"That's Mr. Pettus," Gordo points to a tall man in glasses and a white lab coat. "He's unconventional, but a good teacher."

"Unconventional?" Miranda asks incredulously. "Gordo, he made us dig for worms!"

Gordo chuckles.

"He made you dig for worms, remember?"

You can't help but laugh at the back and forth play between the two.

"Oh, there's Ethan!" Miranda says excitedly, gesturing towards a tall sandy haired boy surrounded by a bevy of beautiful girls, all seeking to hold his attention.

"He's the resident 'big man on campus'." Gordo fills in. "Not a bad guy actually, but he's definitely not the brightest bulb in the box…"

Just then Ethan sees your group, and smiling, makes his way over.

"Yo, Lizzie! Miranda. Go-don." He then sees you. "Who's the new kid?"

Introductions are made.

"Hey, you'll love it here." Ethan tells you. "It's the coolest. Oh, hey," he remembers something, "you guys are goin' to watch my water polo match tomorrow, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" Lizzie chirps.

"Slamn'. 'Cause you know, it's like polo. Only with water. And without the horses."

"Right…" Gordo draws out slowly. "No horses, gotcha."

You see what Gordo meant about Ethan's I.Q.!

As you continue to walk down the hall, Lizzie brings you all up to a complete halt.

"What's Tudgeman up to now?"

Puzzled, you see a tall dark haired boy trying to wrestle what looks to be a tinker toy set out of his locker. His struggling has caught the attention of the other students in the hallway as well.

"Uh, Tudgeman, what're you doing?" Miranda asks. He turns around.

"Oh, hey guys. I'm trying to get this out of my locker. It's for Biology. See, I've constructed the molecule chain of a polyhydic biaxial resin.

"Why?" Miranda presses.

"For extra credit. It'll kill, trust me." Tudgeman says excitedly. "That is, if I can get the thing to come out!" He grunts, struggling some more with the model.

"Well, good luck." Lizzie says, as you move on.

"That was Larry Tudgeman." Gordo explains. "You could say he's the resident 'science nerd'."

Miranda nudges him playfully. "Next to you, you mean."

"Oh yeah," he adds. "He's also got a 'thing' for Miranda."

"Ugh! Gordo!" She punches him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Gordo rubs his shoulder as Lizzie looks on laughing.

You don't get far when you notice a husky looking dark haired girl hanging out with a couple of other girls. Besides their 'tough' appearance, the thing you notice the most is how the one girl glares at Lizzie as you pass by. You ask what's up with that.

"That's Angel Lieberman." Lizzie replies reluctantly. "She's the school 'bad girl'. We used to hang out…"

You look from squeaky-clean Lizzie to Angel and back again.

"It's a long story." Lizzie says, seeing your disbelief.

As you're passing a stairwell, you hear a commotion, causing you to stop.

"No it's not okay!" You see a curly haired girl with glasses shrug off a friend's hand.

"A 'B+' is not acceptable. Oh! If it weren't for Larry Tudgeman I'd have an 'A'. But nooo," she rants. "He throws off the entire curve. Harvard doesn't accept B+ students!" Suddenly she spies you watching her.

"What do you want?" She spits out.

Making your apologies, you catch back up with your new friends.

"So," Lizzie inquires, turning to you, "What's your first class?"

You tell her.

"Ours too! Let's get there before we're late."

You all head off to class.


	2. Chapter 2

You sit next to your newfound friends, so all during class you're being filled in on 'who's who' and 'what's what'.

"That's Parker McKenzie," Lizzie points out a short brown haired girl handing some papers to the teacher. You're not sure, but it sounded like Lizzie had a little bit of 'bite' in her voice just then when she mentioned Parker's name.

"Well ladies and gentlemen," the teacher (who happens to be Mr. Pettus) says, addressing the class for the first time since you've sat down. "As you all know, today your projects are due."

Project? You just got here; surely he can't expect you to have a project?

"Except for our new student here—" He smiles at you. Whew. That was close. "—everyone is expected to have either written a report, or for some extra credit, put together something more spectacular."

Looking around you get the feeling that everyone has heard this speech before.

"Now, I was told that Mr. Tudgeman has a special presentation for us today…" He looks to Larry, who, smiling, gets up to fetch his project from a small connecting room adjoining Mr. Pettus' classroom and another.

Larry's gone only a couple of seconds when you hear a long, piercing, high-pitched scream.

Startled, you all scramble out of your seats to see what's wrong. You, Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda lead the charge.

You find Larry devastated—which is just what his project appears to be. What had, mere minutes ago, been a molecule chain was now so much debris. The entire model has been smashed to pieces.

"Now, everybody just go back to your seats…" Mr. Pettus says, trying to assert control as Larry moans in the background. While the rest drift back, Lizzie, Gordo, Miranda and yourself stay behind.

"Looks like someone took a hammer to it." Gordo remarks.

"My masterpiece, ruined!" Larry wails.

"I'm sure Mr. Pettus will let you make it up Larry." Lizzie consoles, looking hopefully at Mr. Pettus.

"Of course I will. This is a travesty Mr. Tudgeman. You obviously put some work into this."

"Three nights straight. Now it's all down the drain."

You feel bad for Larry; wishing there was something you could do.

"Who'd do something like this?" Miranda wonders aloud.

It's then that you remember that curly haired girl you'd seen earlier. She sure didn't sound like someone who'd be broken hearted if something happened to Larry. You turn to look through the doorway, back into the classroom, and sure enough, there she is, deep in conversation with a friend with a smug look on her face. Does that mean that she did it?

"Is there anything we can do?" Lizzie offers.

"Yeah," Larry says, "you can get the guy who did this!"

Gordo's sympathetic. "Well, at least we can help you clean this up. Come on."

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After class you find yourself beating the hallway with your friends.

"Why would anyone do that to Larry's project?" Lizzie asks of you all.

"Envy? Spite? Jealousy? Who knows?" Gordo replies.

"Well, let's think about this." Lizzie continues. "Who'd benefit from it?"

"What do you mean by 'benefit'?" Miranda asks.

"What would anyone get out of doing this to Larry? What's the motive?"

"Cheap thrills?" Gordo throws out. "Really Lizzie, it could've just been a random thing. Someone passing by the room, sees the model, and boda bing, boda boom, the next thing you know you've got kindling."

"But even so," Lizzie persists, "someone had to have been roaming the halls, and how many kids could there by walking around the school while class is going on?"

"There're just too many angles." She continues. "Where do we start?"

"Start? What do you mean by 'start'?" Miranda wants to know.

"We are going to help Larry find out who did this, right?"

From the looks on their faces, it appears that Miranda and Gordo hadn't been thinking along that line.

"We are his friends, right?"

"Well, sorta…" Miranda says, reluctantly.

You let Lizzie know that you're in. After all, if somebody had smashed your science project you'd want someone to help you out.

"Great! Gordo?"

"Alright. I guess we should help Larry out."

After seeing Gordo cave, Miranda does too.

Okay, now that you're all set, what's the first item on the agenda?

"The first thing we need to do is go back and look for clues at lunch."

You ask what you're looking for.

"Anything that doesn't belong." Lizzie says. "You'll see at lunch."


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the morning passes slowly as you can't wait for lunch to arrive. You're hot to start on the trail of the 'model masher', as you've fancifully named the unknown culprit.

Finally class lets out. You meet your new friends at Mr. Pettus' class.

"Now remember," Lizzie reminds you all, "be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary."

You all go back into the little room where Larry's project had been kept.

"Let's get our timeline straight first." Gordo says. "We all saw Larry with his project before class started, right?"

You all agree. You remember him trying to get it out of his locker.

"Okay then. So we know it was okay before class started. So the 'crime' occurred sometime after he stored the model here but before he came to get it again. Now how long was that?"

"About 20 minutes." Miranda says. "I know because the battery in my watch has been slowing down, so I checked it against the school clock. We were about 20 minutes into class when Tudgeman went to get his thing."

"So, somewhere in those 20 minutes person or persons unknown snuck in here, wreaked Tudgeman's model, then snuck back out."

Miranda raises an eyebrow. "Person or persons unknown?"

"It's what they say on all those cop shows…"

Lizzie starts looking around. "Now that we've narrowed down 'when', let's see if we can't find any clues to 'who'."

"Or 'why'." Miranda puts in.

Following their lead, you start combing the room, on the lookout for anything that sticks out. The room itself is small, probably no more than 12 feet by 12 feet. There are two doors to the room. One opens into Mr. Pettus' classroom, and another on the opposite side opens into another classroom. It seems to be used as a storage room for the two. Books, tests tubes, and all manner of school supplies are stacked around.

"Ugh. This place is a mess." Miranda complains.

"It's still better than the janitor's closet…" Lizzie shudders at a remembered memory.

As you're moving aside a test tube rack, you notice that one of the tubes has fallen out and broken. Not only that, but it seems that it was done recently, because whatever was in it a trace amount remains, dripping slowly from the jagged glass. Is this a clue? You bring attention to your find.

"Good work!" Lizzie proclaims, looking over the 'evidence'. Your first day as a 'detective' and you've already found a vital clue!

"What's it mean?" Gordo asks, looking over your shoulder.

"I don't know." Lizzie answers. "But it's something for us to find out. Let's see if we can find anything else."

But while you all search for the rest of the lunch period, nothing else is found. As you leave, Lizzie summarizes what's known thus far.

"Okay, so we know that whoever destroyed Larry's project did it between the start of class and Larry's discovering it."

"Which would be about 20 minutes." Miranda chips in.

"Right. And we also know that whoever did it knocked over a test tube while in the act." Gordo adds helpfully.

"Now that we have a timeframe," Lizzie takes back up, "we need to find out who could've had access to the storage room during that time."

You wonder how that can be found out.

"Well, anyone in class could've just walked right on in." Miranda says. "Not to mention everyone in Mr. Coppersmith's class next door—remember, his room opens into it just like Mr. Pettus'.

That's a lot of suspects!

Lizzie continues. "So, we know that everybody in those two classes had opportunity, but what about motive? Who in Mr. Coppersmith's class would want to wreak Larry's model?"

"Who has it in for Tudgeman?" Miranda asks.

"I don't know. But that's what we're going to find out."

You ask what the next move is.

"First, we're going to find out who's in Mr. Coppersmith's first period class." Lizzie responds, as the bell rings, signifying that lunch is over.

You get an idea. Your next class is working in the Principal's office as a student helper. You could look that info up!

Gordo grins. "You've gotten the hang of things pretty fast."

"Great! You do that," Lizzie says to you, "while we put our heads together and draw up a list of known suspects. We can all meet up after school at the Digital Bean to compare notes.

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As luck would have it, finding out who's in Mr. Coppersmith's first period class was even easier than you thought it'd be—because Mr. Coppersmith doesn't have a first period class.

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After asking around, you finally find your way to the Digital Bean café after school. Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda wave to you from a corner booth. You go join them.

"I'm glad you made it." Lizzie says. "I totally spaced—I forgot you're new here. Sorry."

You let her know that's okay.

"So, whatda find out?" Miranda asks eagerly.

You relay what you learned.

"Well, at least that makes things simpler."

"Now we're back to our original question: who has a grudge against Tudgeman?" Gordo asks.

As you all sit there and think, you notice the girl you bumped into this morning, Kate, coming into the café, talking with a friend.

"—so then I said, 'you are not wearing those shoes with that skirt are you?" She passes by without even noticing you.

Lizzie takes a sip of her soda. "Maybe we're coming at this from the wrong end. Who knew about Larry's project in the first place?"

Gordo takes up the thread. "We all saw it before class, and so did anyone else who was in the hallway at the time."

"But," Lizzie says, "We only need to focus on those people who saw Tudgeman's model and were in our class when it was smashed." She smiles, having at last made some progress. But Gordo's quick to shoot her down.

"How do we find out who was in the hallway when Tudgeman took out his model?"

It's Miranda who comes up with an answer.

"The security cameras!"

You all look at her.

"The school's security cameras. All we have to do is look at the tape for that place and that time and we'll be able to see who all was there."

You can't help but think how great it is to have brilliant friends!

"After we're done here, let's get back to school and look at those tapes." Lizzie says.


	4. Chapter 4

It's strange being at school after hours! Except for the occasional club meeting, the place seems deserted. As you're walking down the halls, Gordo's commenting on the plan.

"Okay. So we find out who saw Tudgeman's project and was in class at the time. Then what?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Lizzie says, stopping in front of a door.

You've reached your destination, the A/V Room. It's in here that the security tapes are recorded and kept. But before Lizzie can open the door Miranda stops her.

"Wait. I just thought of something. How're we doing to get in there to look at the tapes?"

"Not a problem." Gordo pipes up. "Mr. Escobar gave me a key to let myself in any time on account of my needing to use the equipment."

You all look at him in wonder.

"Hey, I am a budding film director." Retrieving a key, he lets you into the room.

The place is packed so full of electronic gizmos that your head swims. School camcorders, digital cameras, movie projectors. And set against the fall wall is an entire bank of televisions and VCR's. And beside them is the cabinet holding the previous day's tapes.

"Well, let's get started."

After looking at videos for some time, you finally find the one you're looking for.

"There's the hallway." Gordo points out, pausing the videotape.

"Oh, and there's Larry." Lizzie indicates.

You can all see his project as he's trying to get it out of his locker. Hitting 'play', Gordo starts the tape again. It's strange seeing yourself on film. Soon you see yourself leave frame, and shortly after that the hallway empties, leaving finally just Tudgeman himself, then after a little while he and his model leave for class.

"Now all we've got to do is write down everyone we see in the hall at the time Larry's with his project." Miranda says.

"Right. Let's get some paper." Lizzie urges.

Half an hour later, the four of you have a definite list of people who both saw the project and were in your class when it was smashed.

"Alright Gordo, who're we left with?" Lizzie requests. Gordo looks at the sheet.

Angel Libberman

Carol Mouser

Ethan Craft

Kate Sanders

"Kate did it." Miranda declares with certainty.

Lizzie looks at her. "How do you know?"

"I don't. But it'd be so sweet if it was!"

"We can't just pin this on Kate because we don't like her Miranda."

"Why not? It's not like she doesn't deserve to be punished."

"Lizzie's right." Gordo admits reluctantly. "We can't just blame Kate. Though it would be nice…"

Lizzie gives him a look.

"Anyone of these four people had both opportunity and motive." Gordo goes on.

"Why would Ethan want to wreak molecular model?" Miranda wants to know.

From what you've seen of him, you doubt that Ethan even knows what a molecule is!

"Grades." Gordo answers. "Ethan's are in the tank. Tudgeman throws off the grading curve. With stuff like his model setting the bar, Ethan's grades are even lower than usual. Which means he's in danger of not being able to participate in sports.

"Ethan loves his sport…" Miranda admits.

"Then again," Lizzie says, "This is just the sort of thing Angel would find funny. She'd consider smashing Larry's project as having a good time. Not to mention she's in the same boat grade-wise."

"They all are." Gordo says. "They all benefit academically if Tudgeman's grades fail."

But it's Carol Mouser that grabs your attention. That's the curly haired girl you saw earlier, and she hadn't look at all unhappy about Larry's misfortune. It's time you shared your thoughts with your friends.

"Carol is competitive." Gordo muses. "In fact, she's the best student in class, next to Tudgeman. And myself of course."

"Of course…" Miranda rolls her eyes.

Lizzie takes charge.

"Alright, let's go over what we have so far. We have four suspects, and they've all got motive and opportunity. Now it's just a matter of figuring out which one of them did it.

From the entire school down to four in under a day. Not a bad bit of sleuthing, your think.

"So, what now?" Miranda inquires.

"Home." Gordo butts in. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got a ton of homework."

"Me too." Lizzie remembers.

With chagrin, you realize that you've got a ton of homework as well.

"Whoever it is will hold till tomorrow. How about we all meet before class starts?"

You're all amiable.

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As you lay in bed that night, you can't help but think back upon your first day at Hillridge Junior High. Not only have you already made friends, but you've become a junior detective to boot! You can't wait until tomorrow.

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The next morning when you get to school you see Miranda, Lizzie and Gordo's smiling faces waiting for you.

"Oh, nice look." Miranda compliments you on your clothing choices. You ask them where the case stands. Lizzie fills everyone in.

"We know one of our four suspects did it. Now all we have to do is figure out who."

"Is that all…" Miranda responds sarcastically.

"Miranda!"

"Sorry."

You ask how you can go about doing that.

"We'll break up into groups. One group will interview the suspects, the other will analyze that broken test tube you found at the scene of the crime."

"Yeah," Gordo takes up. "It's fair to assume that the same person who smashed Tudgeman's project also knocked over that test tube. If so, they got some of whatever it was on their clothes."

"And if we can find out what was in that test tube…" Miranda supplies, catching on.

"We might have a built in way of catching the culprit." Gordo finishes.

"Miranda, you and our new friend here can go get that test tube and take it to Mr. Pettis to be looked at. Me and Gordo will start the interviews."

Alright, you get to help break the case wide open!

But Miranda has reservations.

"Hold up. How are you going to get them to answer your questions? If one of them did do it they aren't about to let on that they did."

"Don't worry." Lizzie tells her. "I'll think of something."

"Yeah, she's tricky that way." Gordo tells you as she hit him on the arm. Miranda turns to you.

"We might as well get started. Let's go." You follow her as Gordo and Lizzie head in the opposite direction.

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As you two walk through the school, Miranda gives you the '411' on the suspects involved.

"Kate used to be our friend." Miranda says with obvious bitterness. "Emphasis on used to. She suddenly got all popular and didn't have any use for us anymore. Instead, she runs around with a bunch of stuck up dirks. Lizzie still gives her the benefit of the doubt, but I don't. I wouldn't put it past her to do something like this. She's certainly sneaky enough.

Did you know that last year she concocted a scheme to ruin my outfit for school picture day? She's just plain bad."

You nod as the two of you reach Mr. Pettis' room.

"Once we get the test tube we can go get Mr. Pettis in the teacher's lounge." Miranda explains, opening the door.

But before you can answer, a black clad figure bursts out from the room, shoving you aside. What's more, you see that the person is holding something—a broken test tube!

Muscling past Miranda, the culprit races down the hall. Quickly regaining her balance, Miranda tears down after the kid, urging you on to follow her.

"Come on!"

Breaking all sorts of speed records, you both run down the hallway, skid around a corner and begin your pursuit in earnest. While you only got a brief glance at him (or her), you were able to see that he (or she) was wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled low the face—obscuring any features. Not only that, but the sweatshirt's loose fit makes it impossible to even determine the person's gender.

Whoever it is however, one thing is for certain. They're making off with a crucial piece of evidence. Perhaps the crucial piece! And that can mean only one thing—that this person must have been the one who messed up Tudgeman's science project. To think, if you can run this kid down you'll have the case solved! The thought fuels you to greater speed.

Up ahead your quarry looks back. Seeing you on his heels, he manages to knock over a garbage can as he runs by. As Miranda barely avoids it you hear her mutter, "Oh, I'm gonna get you!"

Keeping your eyes on the fleeing figure and watching out for what they throw at you is tricky business!

Busting through a pair of double doors, the suspect makes a dash for freedom via the music hall. Rows of chairs and instruments are set up for the performance later tonight. But right now the only performance being given is that of speed, as you and Miranda chase after the 'Model Masher'.

But instead of catching up, you fall further behind as 'The Masher' starts overturning chairs and music stands. The clutter severely slows your pursuit. You're still trying to pick you way through when the dark figure reaches the other end of the hall and the double doors that await.

Finally the two of you reach the hallway, but it's too late. The school bell has rung and kids are filing into classes everywhere. The criminal and the evidence are both gone.

"Great." Miranda says, clearly frustrated. "Our one lead and it's gone. Lizzie's gonna love this…"

You hope Lizzie and Gordo are having better luck.


	5. Chapter 5

When you finally meet back up with them this is how they related their progress:

"So, who first?" Gordo wants to know. Interviewing people takes time, and they really only have enough for one suspect before school starts.

"How 'about Ethan? I think he'll be the easiest."

"Yeah," Gordo agrees. "Let's get him out of the way first." While unsaid, it's understood that he'd be the one least likely to cop an attitude to being 'interrogated'.

"Now remember," Gordo says, walking alongside Lizzie. "We have to be subtle. We can't let 'em know that w suspect him. We'll just work the questions into the conversation."

"Oh, totally." Lizzie replies. But she can't help but hope that it doesn't turn out to be Ethan. He's too cute to go to jail!

They're in luck, Ethan's at his locker grabbing some gear. Gordo takes the lead.

"Hey Ethan."

"What's up Gor-don?"

"Not much. Just hanging." Pausing, Gordo tries to think of a way to broach the subject. "So, it's a shame about Tudgeman's science project, huh?"

Lizzie nudges him in the ribs, incredulous. So much for subtly!

"Yeah." The top jock says, not noticing the gesture. "That bites. Who'd want to go and trash the Tudge's project? That's not cool."

Lizzie decides it's time to take over the investigation.

"I know, it's totally unfair. I wonder if anybody saw who did it…"

Okay, so it isn't the subtlest maneuver. But neither was Gordo's!

"I don't know." Ethan says, the strain of applying his mind to the problem obvious. Then again, he always looks that way…

"I was busy thinking about the meet."

"The 'meet'?" Gordo repeats.

"Yeah," Ethan's warming up to the subject. "Friday's track meet, it's the regionals. Right now we're second overall, but a win could put us on top!" He grins with boyish enthusiasm.

Lizzie wonders, how could anyone with a face like that possibly be a project wreaker?

"So I guess this meet's a pretty big deal for you?" Gordo probes.

"You bet. Though," Ethan's face clouds over. "For a while there it looked like I might not get to go. Grades you know."

"So what happened?" Lizzie wants to know. Ethan's only too glad to answer.

"Well, I'm not doing so hot in science, and this project could've iced my grade in the class." But then his face brightens. "But since Tudge's project got smashed our reports aren't graded until Monday—after the meet!"

"Interesting." Gordo says, giving Lizzie a look.

"You guys'll be at the meet, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Lizzie enthuses.

Smiling, Ethan heads off for class.

"Nothing new there." Gordo says. "We already knew Ethan had a motive and opportunity. Not to mention means."

That was a bust, Lizzie thinks. Instead of letting him off the hook, all it had done was solidify his status as a suspect. Great. This case was going nowhere fast. What they need is some development. Some fresh angle. Anything.

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When you and Miranda finally meet up with Lizzie and Gordo, you launch right into what happened on your end. While Lizzie's pained to learn that a valuable piece of evidence has been stolen, she's also equally glad that one of the suspects can now be eliminated.

"If Ethan was here with us, then that means the couldn't possibly have taken the test tube." She tells Miranda, her face brightening in the process.

"That still leaves three left." Gordo points out.

"My money's still on Kate." Miranda puts in stubbornly.

If only you'd been able to catch the thief, you think to yourself. Well, at least you can console yourself with the fact that a suspect has been eliminated. One down, three to go.

Taking the recent events into account, Lizzie resets the plan of attack.

"Even though we don't have it, I still think we need to find out what was in that test tube. Miranda?" She wheedles without asking.

"Sure."

"The rest of us will interview the other suspects."

"Are you sure?" Gordo asks with trepidation. "After all, neither Angel or Kate are the most pleasant people to deal with…"

"That's why I'm taking you guys with me." She smiles. "Safety in numbers."

If nothing else, at least you're getting somewhere!

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"So, which one?" Gordo asks as you, he, and Lizzie walk across the quad. Lizzie sighs.

"Angel I guess."

Talk about picking your poison!

You find Angel hanging out with a couple of friends out by the dumpster. The look she levels your way when she sees you coming makes you glad you came in force. She looks like a rough costumer.

"If it isn't Frizzy McGuire and Gor-dork. What, got tired of the circus?" Angel's friends snicker.

"It's nice to see you too Angel…" Lizzie responds, dryly.

"Who's your new friend here?" Angel asks, gesturing at you.

Introductions are made.

"Too bad," she says, eyeballing you. "Looks like you've got potential. Instead you're hanging around these lame-o's."

How in the world are you going to get straight answers from someone with an attitude like this?

Gordo decides to take the bull by the horns.

"So, who'd you think ruined Tudgeman's project?"

"Don't know and don't care." Responds little Miss Attitude. "If you ask me, whoever it was should get a medal. That geek screws up the whole grading system. It's about time someone put 'em in his place."

"Since when did you start to care about grades?" Lizzie asks.

"I don't. But he had it coming all the same. Those brainiacs think they're so cool, when they're really just a bunch of double E's. Angel gives Gordo a pointed look, which he returns.

"I don't suppose you can tell us what you were doing at the time?" He asks.

"Don't have to." Angel shoots back. "And even if I did, nothing that'd tie me to the job. I was sitting quietly at my desk hanging on the teacher's every word." She filters her eyelashes in mock innocence, bringing forth peels of laughter from her cohorts.

"Now beat it. We've got important things to do."

"Oh yes, skulking around the dumpster thinking of ways to land yourself in jail. Very productive…" Gordo mocks, to their displeasure, as you all leave.

"That went well…" Lizzie surmises, as you make your way across campus.

"At least we know she doesn't have an alibi." Gordo consoles. Lizzie is far from satisfied.

"Let's got see Kate."


	6. Chapter 6

But while you're dealing with Kate this is what happens with Miranda (as she tells it to you when you all meet back up):

"I'm glad you came Miss Sanchez." Mr. Pettis greets Miranda as she enters the classroom. "You're just in time to see me conduct an experiment." He holds up two beakers of different colored liquids.

"Separately, these two chemicals are inert. However, if one were to mix them together there should be a, shall we say, 'turbulent' reaction." His face is a picture of scientific glee.

Miranda however isn't nearly as interested. "And you're doing this because…?"

"Because I'm not sure if these are the chemicals I need. See, I sort of mixed up the labels, and I can't tell which is which without some trial and error. If this has the desired result, then I'll know what I have. If it doesn't, I'll have to keep trying…"

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Only moderately…"

"Yeah… Um, can you hold off on that for a minute? I have a question I need to ask you, it's kind of important."

"Oh, sure." Mr. Pettis puts the beakers down, much to Miranda's relief. "Always ready to help a student in their quest for knowledge."

"Uh, huh. Anyway, when we were looking over the crime scene we noticed a broken test tube with a little bit of something left in it. Can you remember what that something was?"

"A test tube… In the backroom you say?"

"That's right. It was in a rack with others, if that's any help."

"Let's see." He leads them to the backroom.

Miranda immediately spots the rack, minus one test tube.

"That's the rack." She points out.

Mr. Pettis screws up his face in concentration.

"What did I have in those…"

Miranda holds her breath as Mr. Pettis seeks to dredge up the information. Finally he snaps his fingers, having remembered.

"That's right." He says aloud. "I remember now!"

Miranda's face brightens.

"Water."

Miranda's face falls.

"I'd just finished washing them out when I put them back here to dry."

So much for that lead. Thanking Mr. Pettis, Miranda goes in search of your party to report.

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"So, how're you going to handle Kate?" Gordo asks of Lizzie as you all seek out the next suspect.

"I'm not really sure. I mean, however we approach it, it won't pretty. I'd prefer if we could get her alone…"

"Good luck." Gordo snorts.

"I know, but still, a girl can hope can't she?"

Unfortunately, it looks like that's all she can do. Because you see the quarry come into view. And she's not alone. There's at least 4 or 5 other kids with her.

The moment she catches sight of you her face takes on a sneer. Sauntering her way over, she starts in on Lizzie.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Lose-y and her little friends. The playground is that way." Kate high fives one of her posse as they all titter at her oh so witty remark.

Lizzie was right. This isn't pleasant!

"It's good to see you too Kate. We have some questions for you."

"That doesn't mean I have answers McGuire."

"Okay, this is serious Kate!" Lizzie says, newfound steel in her voice. "Someone wreaked Tudgeman's project, and that's not cool, so we're trying to figure out who did it."

"Why should I care?" 'Miss Popular' asks condescendingly.

"Because," Lizzie goes on, hotly, "someone has to take the fall, and if you don't help us it could end up being you."

The posse looks on aghast as Kate's eyes narrow.

"You wouldn't dare." She says slowly.

"I would." Gordo puts in cheerfully. "Or for that matter Miranda. She's have zero problems pinning it on you."

Tensely, Kate stares at a now smirking Lizzie.

"Fine." She says, capitulating. "What'd you want to know?"

"For starters, where were you when the crime happened?"

"Duh, I was in class." The Queen of Mean bites back.

"Doing what Kate?" Lizzie asks, exasperation in her voice.

"Talking to Jennifer about what I'm going to wear at the upcoming dance, what else?

Lizzie looks questionably at Jennifer, a member of the posse. She nods.

Not much of an alibi, you think to yourself. One would expect members of her own clique to back her up.

"Besides," Kate goes on. "It's not like my science grades need help. What's my motive?" She smiles at Lizzie.

"That's very interesting Kate…" Your friend says, contemplatively. "I didn't mention anything about grades being a motive. You jumped to that conclusion all on your own."

Her eyes widening, Kate stammers that it wasn't hard to figure out. Unsettled, she turns abruptly and leaves, her posse in tow.

"Well, we're certainly making some headway today…" Gordo remarks, disheartened.

"Maybe we'll have more luck with Carol." Lizzie adds hopefully.

You hope so too. After all, three suspects is two too many.

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But before you being your interrogation of Carol, Miranda checks back with what she found out. The results are not encouraging.

"That test tube was just filled with water?" Lizzie asks unbelieving. "Great."

"Sorry." Miranda apologizes.

"What, you were expecting maybe some kind of glow in the dark chemical or something?" Gordo asks.

Lizzie's candid. "Well, yeah. It's happened for Nancy Drew."

"Unfortunately, this isn't a Nancy Drew book. There's no way to track the perp."

"'Perp'?" Miranda queries, an eyebrow arched.

"It means perpetrator, as in the person that committed the crime. The criminal."

"Why don't you just say that?"

"I did."

Lizzie gets them back on track.

"So there's no way we can use that broken test tube to our advantage? I wonder…"

"I know that look." Gordo says, pleased. "It means you've come up with a plan. Let's hear it McG."

Quickly, Lizzie fills you in on the plan. It's risky, that's for sure. But if it works…

"So, when do we do it?" Miranda wants to know.

"After we interview Carol." Lizzie says. "Come on."

In force, the four of you head off to question Carol.


	7. Chapter 7

Your talk with Carol had to wait until after school. But finally the bell rings, freeing up you and your friends to continue the investigation unfettered. And not a moment too soon; as you are leaving class you pass Tudgeman in the hallway—he's the very picture of being despondent.

You aren't the only one to notice.

"Man, Tudgeman's really taking this hard…" Miranda emotes, concern slightly clouding her face.

"Well, if our plan works he won't have to anymore." Lizzie says.

With a renewed sense of vigor, you set out for the last round of questioning.

At this time of day Carol can be found at her Computer Club meeting. Right on schedule, hers is the first face you see upon entering the classroom.

"Hey Gordo." Carol says, addressing your friend. "I see you finally decided to join, and you've brought friends."

"Not exactly." He says. "We have a few questions for you Carol, if you don't mind."

Her eyes narrow. "What kind of questions?"

Miranda barrels in.

"Like where you were when Tudgeman's project was smashed."

"Ah. Those kind of questions… Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't help you. I've got a club meeting to run."

You look around. There can't be more than a dozen kids. Doesn't look like there's anything pressing going on.

"Come on Carol," Gordo wheedles, "help us out. All we want to know is what you were doing."

Carol looks at all of you.

"So, I'm a suspect now, huh? I don't see why I should help you."

You bring up the cause of justice, which elicits a blank stare.

"How about helping a fellow nerd?" Gordo tries. Again, the silent treatment.

"Don't you want the person who did this caught?" Lizzie asks in a deceptively small voice.

"At my desk." Carol volunteers at last. "If you'll excuse me." She turns away before any pardons can be given.

Back out in the hallway, Miranda has an assessment of the situation.

"Well, she's guilty of one thing, that's for sure."

"What's that?" Lizzie wants to know.

"Being rude."

You agree wholeheartedly with that.

"It looks like it's time for that plan Lizzie." Gordo says.

"Right."

You hope this works.


	8. Chapter 8

Science class the next morning is somewhat different. As you sit at your desk, waiting expectantly, you can barely contain your excitement.

"This had better work Lizzie…" You hear Miranda whisper. No joke. A lot was riding on this. It had taken some doing, but Lizzie had convinced Mr. Pettus to allow you all to try Lizzie's idea. If this didn't work, then the case could go unsolved.

As the bell rings, Mr. Pettus gets up in front to address the class.

"Class. I've agreed to turn over the beginning of class today to Miss McGuire. As you all know, someone destroyed Mr. Tudgeman's project—"

Mr. Pettus is interrupted by a choked sob from Tudgeman. Mr. Pettus continues.

"Miss McGuire and her friends have been endeavoring to find the culprit. She's convinced me to allow her to conduct a little experiment in the hopes of achieving that end.

"Miss McGuire," he turns to Lizzie, "the floor is yours."

Lizzie gets up and faces everyone. She seems as nervous as you feel. She clears her throat.

"Someone in this room broke Tudgeman's project. And we can prove who it was."

A buzz goes through the room. Lizzie starts pacing, getting into the role.

"Where our 'Model Masher' made their mistake was in the very act itself. Because not only did they destroy Tudgeman's model, but they knocked over a test tube as well. That test tube broke, covering the person with the chemical within. Gordo, would you like to take over?" She gestures to Gordo, who rises.

"Sure. You see, that test tube contained a chemical that glows in the dark. That's good for us, bad for whoever wreaked Tudgeman's project. Another good bit of luck for us is that the stuff takes a long time to wear off. Which means that it's still detectable on whoever spilled it. If it touched any part of the skin it's still visible. Even if say, the person touched their clothes to take them off—it'd still be on their hands."

As Lizzie and Gordo have been talking, you and Miranda have been pulling down the shades on the windows around the classroom. Lizzie's now ready for the coup' grace.

"Mr. Pettus, if you could turn out the lights…"

Just as he's about to hit the switch, Angel makes a break for it. Having stationed yourself at the main door, you block her way. Reacting, she dashes for the interconnecting door to no avail: Miranda's there waiting.

"This gig's up Angel." Gordo gloats.

"Oh, no." She exclaims, composing herself. "I'm not taking the fall alone. She paid me to wreak dork-boy's project." Angel's outstretched arm points an accusatory finger directly at Carol Mouser.

"Shut up you fool!" Carol shrieks.

"If I'm going down I'm taking you with me."

"You troglodyte! There wasn't anything but water in that test tube!"

Her eyes widening, Carol realizes that she's just blown any chance of wiggling her way out of this. In a rage, she flies at Angel. The two are held back only by the combined effort of you and your friends.

"Looks like this case is solved." Miranda yells above the din.

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"Two weeks suspension." Lizzie mulls as you all are walking through the halls.

"Just what they deserve." Miranda takes up. "Though I wish Tudgeman would stop acting so grateful. It's creeping me out."

You laugh.

"I still can't believe it." Gordo shakes his head. "Two people were responsible. Carol 'contracted' with Angel to put a 'hit' on Tudgeman's project just to bolster her own grade."

"I can't believe just how cheap Angel was." Miranda puts in. "All it took was five bucks for her to do it. I would've held out for twenty."

"Miranda!" Lizzie exclaims.

"What? I'm just saying…"

Well, you can't believe that the whole thing was busted open on a stone cold bluff.

"Yeah," Gordo says, agreeing with you. "You really lucked out there Lizzie. What would you have done if Angel hadn't cracked?"

Lizzie lets out a breath. "Let's just say I'm glad it worked out the way it did…"

You are too. And to think, the bluff was even made possible because of a clue you found.

"Yeah," Lizzie confirms. "If you hadn't found that broken test tube in the first place, Carol and Angel would have gotten away with it."

Thankfully you did and they didn't.

"I think we deserve to celebrate." Lizzie goes on. "Let's head over to the Digital Bean for some smoothies."

Sounds good to you.

As you head out, you can't help but think that being the new kid in town isn't such a bad thing after all.

THE END


End file.
